Prefabricated dry well



June 21, 1955 M. E. TEMPLE PREFABRICATED DRY WELL Filed June 6, 1951 n fraile/Z222' n 2,711,223 1 l PREFABRICATED DRY WELL Maurice E. Temple, Wellesley, y, K Application June 6, 1951, No. 230,144 1 s claims. vv(cl. isz-'2) This invention pertains to dry wells such as` are ernployed for receiving the'rain water from the'roof of a building and from which the water is slowlydispersed by seepage into the surrounding soil, and-relates more particularly to a dry well of prefabricated, portable type. Customarily, a dry well is prepared by digging a hole in the ground at the'desired location, partially filling the hole with rocks, broken bricks or other irregular, lumpy, solid and insoluble material and` thenv covering this iilling with a layer of soil. The waterfromkthe .down spout from the roof is led to the rock-filled hole and enters the interstices between the lumps of `solid material, and gradually seeps out into the soil. vWhen first made-and if properly prepared, such dry wells are reasonablyjeffective for the intended purpose, but the intrusion of earth, roots, etc. gradually encroaches upon and fills the voids between the lumps until eventually the well must be dug up and re-made. It is not always easy to obtain the proper type of filling material and in some localities such material is quite expensive. Moreover, if the selected material is not of the proper type or if care is not exercised in applying the top covering of soil, the well may not be satisfactory from the start.

The present invention has for its principal object the provision of a prefabricated dry well of portable type properly designed for its intended function and by the use of which many of the dificulties attendant upon the use of dry wells of the ordinary type are avoided.

In order that a prefabricated device of this type may be of practical utility it is necessary that it be of relatively light weight, as compared with cement, concrete or ceramic materials, in order to keep transportation costs within reasonable limits. Accordingly, it is a further object of the invention to provide a prefabricated dry well which, while strong and rigid and capable of supportng the loads imposed upon it during use, is of light weight so as to make its transportation, over reasonably long distances, a practical matter.

Furthermore, in order that such a Prefabricated dry well may be acceptable, it must be so devised that it is not subject to gradual deterioration from exposure to moisture or soil acids or bacteria. Accordingly, it is a further object to provide a dry well which is resistant to such deteriorating agencies. It is a further object to provide a dry well which may readily be cleaned at the necessary intervals to remove silt which may have been deposited within it, but without requiring thatpthe dry well itself be dug up. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view of the dry well with a portion of the cover broken away; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing the drywell of the present invention installed in the position of use in the ground.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the improved, prefabricated dry well of the presentinnited States Patent ice vention, this dry well, as here illustrated, 'comprising a body portion which is of unitary constructionfand which has the sidewall 2 and the. bottom 3.# Either the side wall orthe bottom, or preferably both, is provided with openings or perforations 4 and 5 respectively. These perforations may be formed in any desired way, but preferably during the `moulding operation, rif Vsuch be emfA ployed, by which thev body of the dry-well is formedL As here il1ustrated,`the body'ofthe dry well is ofgenerally cylindrical shape, 4being circular in horizontal section, but it is to be understood that the particular'A shape of'the vdry well is unimportant` except that for easev in` manufacture the simpler shapes, such as circular or lr'ectangular would ordinarily be preferred. Since d ry` wells are not required to-hold'large volumes of water, they diameter and of adepth of 2 feet.

The d-ry well also comprises the removable cover 6V here shown vas having a marginal flange 7 which `fits down over the upper edge ofthe body portion `so, as to keep the cover properly centered. As illustrated, thecovery is 'provided with interior webs 8 to strengthen it so that itrnay be capable of supporting the load of the super-A imposed layer of soil T and any normal'additional loads resting upon this layer of soil.'Y l I `Ashere illustrated, the body portion of the dry well is provided, spaced a short distance from its upper edge,`

with an inlet port defined by a tubular nipple 9 which may vbe secured in any `desired way to the wall of the body portion and which is designed to receive the end' of a length 10 of terra cotta pipe, cast iron soil pipe or n the lik'e, whichis connected in the usual way,.by` further lengths of such pipe, to the conventional down spout 11 leading from the roof of the building. While, as here shown, the nipple` 9 is provided to facilitate proper connection of the pipe 10, it is obvious that this nipple may be omitted and the side wall of the body portion of the dry well merely provided with an opening into which the end of the pipe 10 or its equivalent mayl project.

The thickness of the side walls, bottom and cover will depend upon the material from which the dry well'is made, it being obvious that ifmetal be employed, the walls need not be so thick as when other materials having less inherentY strength are employed. If metals are used, they should be of a type not subject to rapid deterioration or corrosion in contact with moist soil. Copper, copper bearing steel or stainless steel may well be used with this object in view, but for ordinary purposes these materials, although otherwise well suited for the purpose, may be found too expensive. Accordingly it is preferred to employ some non-metallic material, for example a suitable solid, desirably in granular form, bound together by a plastic binder. Obviously the materials employed should be cheap enough to make their use practical for such a device. As above pointed out it is requisite, from practical considerations, that the device be as light as possible commensurate with strength. Among the solid materials which are considered to be useful (and which should form the major percentage of the mass) are wood sawdust, shavings or chips. Ground cork would be desirable if its cost were not prohibitive. Other organic materials may be employed, such asare found to have the desired characteristics. lt is further contemplated that light weight porous granules of mineral origin, for instance pumice, may be used.

The binder material should have the characteristics above described of substantial immunity to injury from contact with moist soil together with adhesive strength, and should likewise be cheap enough to be practical. Among those which at present seem to have vthe best Patented .June 21, 1955 A possibilities are binders of the bituminous type such,'fr

example, as asphalt and .coaltan AOther bindersnhish ,i

and seepage disposal of rain water from a down spout oi` a building, said well comprising an open top receptacleV at present may be too expensive for such use are the phenol formaldehyde resins, rubber or synthetic rubber compounds, and thermoplastic synthetic resins.

Assuming forr example, that Wood sawdust andan asphaltbinder are to be employed, the sawdust shouldv bemixedlwith the binder, the latter having been made iluidY by applicationofheat, the biiider'being in proporf tion just suicient to coat and bind together the granules of .sawdust while inplastic condition, .The material is..

then flowed into a mold ,of the proper vdimensions or subjected to'an injection `or lequivalentmolding process,

andafter the binder has cooled and solidified, the body portionof-the container is ready for shipment to the point of use. When made of such moulded material,Y the wall and bottom of the body portion may be of the orderv of 11/4 inches in thickness to insure the requisite strength, but this is merely -by way of example. The cover may be,

of the same material as the body portion or lof other material as desired, and also moulded to shape.

lIn-use, the body portion is sunk into the ground to the proper depth, for example, so that there may bersix inches or more of soil over it after the cover has been put in place. After the connecting pipes have 'been properly arranged the soil is lled in over the cover and the device is ready for use.

fif, after a long period of use, the body portion of the. well should become partially lled with silt, for example gravel brought down from the roof by rain water, the.

prfabriated, portable dry well for the reception having a at bottom and a peripheral wall rising therefrom, the upper extremity of the wall constituting a rim J at the open top, a cover for the top, said cover having a depending peripheral angeadapted to it snugly on the rim of the receptacle, the"bottom and wall of the recep`y tacle being a: homogeneous'. monolith of non-metallic material and havingvuniformly Ydistributed perforations therethrough, said* cover beingcomposedof the same y materialzand lbeine imperfcrate andeninletpqr? the upper Pal't of the E311 fQl ffeption ofthe lower extremity of the down spout. 2 Y

2. A Prefabricated, portable dry well according to claim i Y l, wherein the cover is reinforced by ribs at its underside to support the weight of the superimposed soil when the p Y dry'well is buried beneath thesurtaee of the ground. Y

Y 3,. A prefabricated, portable dry well according to claim Lawhereinxthe receptacle andI cover consist of granular organic material @fia specific gravity less than l, combined with a bituminous binder. 

